March of the Invisibles: Thousands take to streets demanding respect for human rights by Costa Rican government

By Margie Thompson, ESCRIBANA

June 18, 2012

Thousands of “invisibles” marched through downtown San José, Costa Rica on June 16th, demanding that LGBT (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender) rights be respected, along with other sexual and reproductive rights such as in vitro fertilization. Singing, dancing, chanting, and drumming filled the air through the central avenue, as the marchers called for the government to respect human rights.

They also were demanding the resignation of a Justo Orozco, a conservative Evangelical Christian legislator who is President of the Legislative Human Rights Commission who said in a recent speech, “I do not see, I do not recognize, so I do not discriminate,” regarding lesbians, gays and transgenders in the country, basically trying to render them invisible. But massive numbers of protestors refused, demanding visibility.